In our earlier patents and patent applications we described devices and methods for determining fuel consumption and/or emissions for land vehicles (“vehicles”) using signals obtained from the vehicle's engine management system through the on-board diagnostics port (OBD, OBDII, CAN and similar herein referred to as the ‘OBD port’). Often the required data is not available, or not available in a readily usable form, from the OBD port, and in our patent application (PCT no. WO2008/146020) we describe how other signals from the engine management system can be identified and used to determine fuel consumption and/or emissions values. Such information can also be used to infer driver behaviour which can be used for driver monitoring or training.
In some instances, not only some information required to perform the fuel/emissions calculations may not be available, but can even be blocked by the vehicle manufacturer. In these instances another approach is required.
There are many occasions, and many persons and entities, who would find it useful to have access to accurate predictions of fuel consumption of a vehicle on an instant to instant basis during the course of a journey. Such predictions would need to reflect the characteristics of the particular vehicle being driven and the behaviour of the driver during the course of the journey, and these characteristics would be influenced by the characteristics of the journey.
Attempts have been made to provide estimates of fuel consumption and emissions but tend to be based on averages and generalities rather than specifics of each vehicle, driver and journey, utilised on an instant to instant basis.
It would be helpful to have accurate values for fuel consumption during the course of a journey dependent on characteristics of the vehicle, driver behaviour, and journey, for example for fleet owners, haulage and like companies, and insurance companies, among others, to best manage their business.
The present invention seeks to provide such accurate values.